WICHITA – The Newman men's basketball team used a late 21-7 run to pull away in a 91-79 victory over Texas A&M International on Thursday (Jan. 29) at Fugate Gymnasium. The Jets moved to 9-8 and 5-6 in the Heartland Conference. NU also started fast, using a 22-5 run to start the game.
 
With the scored tied at 65-65 with 5:54 remaining, NU went on the 21-7 run. The spurt started with a 3-pointer from Jeremy Espinoza at the 5:39 mark. After trading points, Reggie Baker hit two free throws for a 71-66 score with 4:32 left.
 
The Jets led by four points at 75-71 with 2:55 left then scored seven straight points. Baker scored on back-to-back layups, and Cortrael Colbert hit a 3-pointer from the right wing for an 82-71 NU advantage with 1:20 left. After two Colbert free throws made it 84-72, the Jets went up by 14, 86-72, on a Baker layup with 43 seconds remaining.  NU made five free throws in the final 25 seconds for the 91-79 final score.
 
Newman started the game 6-for-6 from the field, including 5-for-5 from 3-point distance. TAMIU scored the first points on a layup 11 seconds into the game then James Pegues hit the first triple at the 19:36 mark for a 3-2 NU edge. Colbert knocked down a 3-pointer at 18:24 for the 6-2 score, and Pegues hit his second 3 with 17:58 remaining in the half for a 9-2 advantage. At the 17:26 mark, Espinoza put in a 3-pointer for the fourth straight triple to start the game. Pegues rose to hit his third 3, but was fouled. He hit all three free throws for a 15-2 NU lead. Espinoza ended the run of 3s with a layup made with 16:22 remaining. Ryan McCarthy got in on the scoring with the fifth 3-pointer at the 15:48 mark for a 20-5 NU advantage. McCarthy made two free throws with 15:24 remaining for the 22-5 score.
 
The Dustdevils went on a 22-6 run in the next 19 minutes to cut the deficit to one point at 28-27. TAMIU used two free throws to take only their second lead of the first half at 32-31 with 4:11 remaining. The Jets quickly regained the lead and were up by two, 39-39, at halftime.
 
To start the second half, it was all Dustdevils as they gained a 46-41 lead less than 3 minutes into the second half. TAMIU led by five points twice, but the Jets battled back to tie the score at 59-59 with 8:46 left. The score remained close until the late NU run.
 
Pegues and Baker scored a game-high 23 points. Baker scored 22 of his points in the second half. He didn't take a shot from the field in the first 20 minutes. Pegues scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half. The 23 points for Pegues is a career high. He finished 5-of-7 from the field and 11-of-16 from the free throw line. Baker went 7-of-13 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Espinoza added 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including three 3s. Colbert tallied 16 points, going 8-for-8 from the line. He totaled a game-high seven assists.
 
The Jets shot 49 percent (24-49) from the field, including 50 percent (9-18) from 3. NU finished with 44 free throws, hitting 34 for a 77.3 percent mark. The 44 attempts are a season high.
 
TAMIU's Patrick Carlson totaled a team-high 20 points. He hit six 3-pointers. The Dustdevils finished shooting 44.3 percent (27-61) from the field.
 
Newman hosts St. Mary's on Saturday (Jan. 31) at 3 p.m. at Fugate Gymnasium. The game is the Hall of Fame Game and admission is free.